Composer Profile: Qing Olivia Yang in Conversation with Christian Baldini

On November 9, I will have the pleasure of conducting the US premiere of Qing Olivia Yang's work "Alice", with the Camellia Symphony Orchestra in Sacramento. Below is a nice exchange we had with Olivia, in preparation for the performance.

Christian Baldini: Olivia, it will be a pleasure to welcome you in Sacramento as a composer and performer to bring your piece to life in California for the first time. The work is written for voice, sampler/electronics and orchestra, and it is not very usual to have the composer serve as the performer as well, so a special treat in many ways. Please tell us about the genesis of this work, based on a lonely whale. How did you get this idea and its inspiration for your music?

Qing Olivia Yang: Thank you for this wonderful opportunity to work with the Camellia Symphony Orchestra and you! I happened to read about Alice on the Internet and heard the real voice sampling of this whale. It was unable to communicate properly with other whales and was lonely because the whale had a frequency of 52Hz, compared with 15 to 25Hz for normal whales. Alice's situation reminds me of myself, and I often feel lonely like Alice: whenever some thought or action is not understood by others, especially those close to me... But I never give up expression, looking for my soul mate, just like Alice!

After seeing it, I immediately had a lot of inspirations. And I imagined expressing the resonance between human beings and animals in the form of orchestral music, electronic music and human voice: orchestral music is the sea, electronic music is Alice itself, and human voice represents human beings. These three voices sometimes appear in isolation, sometimes appear in each other indistinguishably.

I also have a unique design about the structure and style of the music. Depending on Alice's own sound motive, I develop it into a new melody, and gradually moving from impressionist music style to a contemporary music style, finally back to the original voice…I want to express the change of Alice that from happiness in the sea originally to pain, loneliness cause the unique voice of itself when it finds that and finally it calms down and go on seeking the bosom friends.

The work premiered at the opera hall of the Central Conservatory of Music(Beijing, China) on June 25, 2018. The conductor was Mr.Hao Shen(professorof CCOM), and UNAM-CCOM orchestra and I played it. After the first performance, I received a lot of good comments.

CB: Who would you say are your main influences as a composer?

QOY: There are a lot of composers I like very much. Their work impressed when I was a child, such as Bach, Vivaldi, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Debussy, Ligeti, and active in modern XiaogangYe, Jianping Tag, Wenjing Guo, Dun Tan, Guoping Jia, Wenchen Qin, Changyuan Liu, Binyang Li, Simon Steen Anderson, and so on.

CB: What do you try to communicate with your own music? What is special about symphonic music? Would you be interested in writing an opera?

QOY: I don’t want to limit my music or my expression by making music into a single style, but I would like to express an idea clearly in each work by “music”, because I think the form should serve the content. So before each creation, I often imagine and choose a theme to express the spirit, and then determine the appropriate form, style and structure. Of course, I am very interested in opera, I love singing since I was a child, I think the voice is one of the most direct way to express music emotions. I've written several musicals, and I want to write an opera very much!

CB: Tell us about your background. You grew up and studied in China. Who were the main influences and teachers in your life?

QOY: I started to learn the keyboard when I was five years old. After one year of learning, I could play Bach's Gigue, then my first music teacher Mr. GuohuiQiao discovered my gift and recommend me to engage in music. After a few years, I studied music composition in the middle school attached to Central Conservatory of Music. Professor Changyuan Liu is my first teacher of music composition, he is a very famous Chinese composer also. And I studied for the bachelor and master degree in the composition department of the CCOM, under Professor Jianping Tang and Guoping Jia, who are also very famous composers in China. I really appreciate all three teachers for their help with my studies and the inspiration they gave me in the road of music composition.

CB: Where do you see yourself in 10 years? What would you like to be doing?

QOY: I'm not sure where I will be after 10 years. I love traveling, maybe I will be in the Antarctic when we contact one day in the future. But no matter where I am, of course I will always write as a composer, this is my career, I can't live without music.

CB: Thank you very much for your time, and we look forward to featuring your considerable talents as singer and composer in Sacramento.

QOY: Thank you, Christian. Thank you everyone! I'm looking forward to the performance on the evening of 9th November!

Qing (Olivia) Yang (born in 1992), young composer, is a resident composer of the China Broadcasting Art Troupe. Qing is also a member of the Chinese National Orchestral Society.

Qing graduated from the Attached Middle School of Central Conservatory and got her bachelor’s degree of composition from Central Conservatory of Music. In 2015, she was recommended as a graduate student majoring in composition in Central Conservatory of Music. Qing was tutored by several great Chinese composers, including professor Changyuan Liu, professor Jianping Tang, professor Guoping Jia, etc.

During her study in CCOM, Qing won a considerable amount of prizes, honors, and scholarships. Qing Yang composes an extensive range of works. The compositions have won her several prizes. Qing composes works from serious music to popular music, from classical music to fusion music, even movie soundtracks. As it comes to the genres she composes, there are solo music, chamber music and symphony for both Chinese traditional instruments and western instruments.

Qing’s compositions are well performed both domestically and internationally. Her works have been performed in Beijing National Center for the Performing Arts, Zhongshan Concert Hall, Beijing Concert Hall, Central Conservatory of Music Concert Hall, Beijing Century Theatre, Peking University Centennial Hall, Hong Kong Cultural Center Concert Hall, Taipei Zhongshan Hall, etc. There are also overseas performances in cities in Europe and North America, for example, Toronto, Tallinn, Nuremberg.

Qing cooperated with some brilliant orchestras, including China Broadcasting National Orchestra, China Broadcasting and Film Symphony Orchestra, Central Conservatory of Music Symphony Orchestra, China Youth Symphony Orchestra, Xi'an Symphony Orchestra, Taipei City Orchestra, Camellia Orchestra, Yuanyang Chamber Music Group, etc. Qing also have cooperations with Jiapeng Peng, Ling Li, Tao Fan, Hao Shen, Christian Baldini, Chunquan Qu, Bingbing Zhang, Yujue Ji and many other outstanding conductors.

The representative works of Qing can be categorized into several genres. She wrote symphonies including The Flowing River Runs into the Heart, and Alice; the symphony for national orchestra, named Overture of the National Costums; the fusion work called Screaming, solo piece called The Memory of the Tashilhunpo Monastery for the instrument Sheng; the piece for chamber music called Samatha; national symphony with a small arrangement called Songs of Chu; Concertino named Road for Konghou; soundtracks for the movie Embarrassments in Vietnam; music for stage shows called Castle in the Sky and The Magic of Panda Fairy; music for contemporary primitive dance Women of the Dai Minority in Mountains; popular song called Shining Star.

In 2017, Qing’s work Road-Trilogy was selected in the Young Composing Talent Program of the China National Arts Fund. In 2018, Qing held an exclusive concert titled Screaming performing her compositions, which was highly praised by the audiences.

Carrie Hennessey in Conversation with Christian Baldini

On November 9, the Camellia Symphony Orchestra will present Ein deutsches Requiem by Johannes Brahms. Below is an interview with our soprano soloist, Carrie Hennessey:

Christian Baldini: Carrie, it is a pleasure to welcome you back to the Camellia Symphony Orchestra for this beautiful music. You and I have worked together with different orchestras in various cities, and it is wonderful for me to showcase your gorgeous voice with our orchestra here in Sacramento. Please tell me, how does the Brahms' Requiem fit within the usual (operatic) repertoire that you sing more frequently? 

Carrie Hennessey: The vocal line for this particular aria is quiet, extremely long, expansive, fluid and exposed. Often in the operatic repertoire that I sing, someone in the orchestra is doubling the vocal line which gives more ease to the singer, because if something goes a bit off the rails technically, there is backup in the orchestra. This opening passage really takes so much technique, but once it felt comfortable to me, it is the one line that I completely relish in ALL the repertoire that I sing! It’s quite special. This vocal line in the Brahms is beautifully accompanied by the orchestra with a counter melody that lingers in the air which allows for the opening phrase to also linger and spin. The soprano line then joins the orchestra at the end of the first few phrases and then brings in the chorus’ first lines. Just stunning!

CB: Besides the obvious soprano solo movement "Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit", what are some of your favorite moments in this piece?

CH: Movement IV, Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen is one of my favorite movements! This was one of my mother’s favorite bible verses. She was my accompanist growing up and my musical inspiration, so to hear this text set with such joy right before I sing my aria is perfection for me. My mother passed several years ago, and never heard me sing this piece. The aria was added later after Brahms’ mother had passed, so this is quite a moment of comfort and joy for me .


CB: This is for sure an unusual Requiem, not only in the choice of language, as most others are in Latin, but also in the fact that the composer himself carefully chose the texts that represented the message he wanted to communicate. What are your feelings about this, and about the general feeling of the piece?

CH:I have to say I feel deeply connected to this work. The texts chosen were truly for humankind and were all inclusive. We all feel grief. We all need comfort. The opening lines make me weep every time with their ethereal and shimmering beauty "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.” This truly is a work of hope, a work looking to find and give comfort in the chosen texts instead of focusing on the fire and brimstone contained in the more traditional Requiem texts.


CB: Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful gifts with us, we very much look forward to the performance!

CH: Christian, thank you so much! I look forward to our time together with Brahms!

Known for her soaring voice and richly nuanced characters, soprano Carrie Hennessey is consistently thrilling audiences and critics in opera and concert appearances around the world. Ms. Hennessey’s much awaited debut in Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire “gave us a Blanche that let us burrow into her character’s soul, even into the darkest crevices…Hennessey, using a one-two punch of music and drama, made it resonate in a way that equaled the finest stage performances of the part I’ve seen.” (Fresno Bee) Ms. Hennessey’s embodiment of the title role in the West Coast Premiere of Tobias Picker’s opera Emmeline earned her a Bay Area Broadway World Awards for “Best Leading Actress in a Musical” nomination. Praised for bringing her signature “exquisite vocal purity and range to the title role”and was “nothing short of sensational” (San Francisco Classical Voice). As Mimì in La Bohème, Ms. Hennessey “..possessed of a full, powerful lyric soprano, which delivers Puccini’s arias and duets richly. Her “Mi chiamano Mimì” (Yes, they call me Mimì) in Act 1 is gorgeous”. (San Francisco Classical Voice) On only one day’s notice, Ms. Hennessey made her debut with the Modesto Symphony Orchestra, as soprano soloist in Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, to great acclaim.

2020/2021 season includes a title role debut in Kát’á Kabanová by Leoš Janáček, Rose in At the Statue of Venus by Jake Heggie. Ms. Hennessey will also perform in Blitzstein’s Triple Sec and a world premiere of the opera Bones of Girls by librettist, Cristina Fríes and composer, Ryan Suleiman, both aforementioned productions with The Rogue Music Project, a collective of performers that cultivates adventurous musical and theatrical experiences. Other performances include collaborating in the development and performance of a world premiere ballet with choreographer Darrell Grand Moultrie and the Sacramento Ballet, Carmina Burana, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Gounod’s Messe solennelle en l’honneur de Sainte Cécile, Brahms’ Requiem, as well as numerous recitals, chamber music and orchestral concerts, cabarets and continuous music education projects.

Recent engagements include Ms. Hennessey’s orchestral debut of the Strauss’ Vier Letzte Lieder with conductor Daniel Stewart, a celebration of Leonard Bernstein’s music with concert “Bernstein 100” with the Colorado Symphony and Sinfonia Chamber Brass, a role debut in a sold out run as Estelle in the opera The Stronger, a recital in several East Coast venues “Crisis of Faith” with bass Paul An of arias, duets and scenes from new operas including several World Premieres, Song of Sacramento a recital benefitting the Sacraemtno Children’s Chorus, featuring local composers and 8 world premiere songs, Carmina Burana with Sacramento Ballet, Mozart’s Exsultate, Jubilate! and Requiem, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, chamber works including Respighi’s Il Tramonto, Ravel’s Trois Poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé and William Walton’s Façade, as well as several appearances in recital.

Previous performances include Britten’s War Requiem, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 as well as debuts at the Concertgebouw in Bruges, in Ypres, Belgium and at the Liederhalle in Stuttgart, Germany singing the soprano solo in the Verdi Requiem. Alongside the world-renowned composer Ricky Ian Gordon in the fall of 2016, Ms. Hennessey gave Master Classes and performed a recital of his original art songs.

Notable recent opera highlights include Blanche Du Bois in André Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire, Sarah Miles in the Bay Area premiere of Jake Heggie’s The End of the Affair with West Edge Opera, Mimì in La Bohème, Elle in La Voix Humaine in NYC, Lauretta in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and Magda and Floria Tosca in Puccini: A Man and His Muses for Sacramento Opera. Notable concert appearances include Other highlights include her debut with the Houston Symphony at Jones’ Hall, Mozart’s Mass in C minor at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Budapest, Hungary and Reduta Hall in Bratislava, Dvorak’s Requiem in Rudolfinum Hall in Prague, Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen at the International Mahler Festival in the Czech Republic, the Verdi’s Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem, Villa Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5, Mendelssohn’s Elijah and Lobgesang. the Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Vaughn Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem.Handel’s Messiah with the renowned Pacific Symphony, Stravinsky’s ballet Pulcinella, Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, a World Premiere song cycle written for Ms. Hennessey and the Rootstock Percussion Trio, Orff’s Carmina Burana with Grand Rapids Symphony, and Fauré’s Requiem and Brahms’ Requiem with Oakland Symphony where Hennessey brought “bright tone and elegant legato”.

Ms. Hennessey directed the Sacramento Children’s Chorus their joint production in Brundibar Sacramento Opera, is currently an artistic advisor to the board and mentor to the artistic staff. Ms. Hennessey continues to actively support music education through lectures. workshops and Master Classes in the communities in which she works, as well as nurturing a thriving private vocal studio in Northern CA.

Concertmaster Profile: Chase Spruill in Conversation with Christian Baldini

Meet Chase Spruill: The New Concertmaster of the Camellia Symphony Orchestra

Christian Baldini: Chase, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the Camellia Symphony Orchestra family as our new concertmaster. It was a real pleasure to work with you last season as one of our guest concertmasters, and based on the wonderful feedback we received, I know I speak for our orchestra members as well when I welcome you with open arms into your new position.

Chase Spruill: Thanks, Maestro-- it's really a joy to be joining you all this season.  It was a pretty special feeling stepping in as a guest last season.  There's always a little bit of nervousness for me when I'm doing something like that because you feel like you're walking into somebody else's home, but everybody was so warm and open during that time, and so committed to joyful music-making and doing their best...when you see something like that, it's hard to pass up the opportunity when you're given a reason to stay with that community longer!

CB: After having developed a fruitful career in the East Coast, you recently returned to the Sacramento region, and it's wonderful to have you with us sharing everything you bring into your position from your experience as a seasoned chamber musician and orchestral musician. What are some of the experiences you remember most fondly from your time working with folks like Philip Glass, Steve Mackey and the Kronos Quartet?

CS: Always the rehearsals.  Performances should stand out for me, but it's the rehearsals which stick out in my mind.  There's so much dialogue and conversation in the rehearsal, and the endeavor to draw something out of the music we were playing felt so shared, I don't think I knew when I first started working with those kinds of artists that it was okay to be human and spirited and inquisitive.  In my musical life, I grew up listening to and admiring those artists, and in my imagination, I thought playing with them would mean I had to walk some kind of ultra-prepared, uncompromising line, and that they would somehow like me more if I did things the way I assumed they were used to other musicians doing them, and I couldn't have been more wrong.  They knew I respected their work and wanted to be with them and learn from them, yet they never implied that I should be quiet.  I was always shocked at the amount of times questions would come my way about what I was hearing or thinking, or whether I could think of any new approaches.  Working with them really solidified in my own spirit the kind of human being I wanted to work to be in the music world.  

CB: Tell us Chase, how did you begin your musical path? Was there a person or a few people that were particularly influential and inspiring to you?

CS: Like a lot of young people, I started music in public schools when I was 10 years old.  I'd always been drawn to film music, so when the offering came around, I chose violin, and I was getting pretty serious about it.  Unfortunately, when I was 12, I suffered a pretty life-altering injury which left me bedridden, wheelchair-bound, and in-and-out of surgeries for the next two years, which also meant I had to come in-and-out of school.  I have a very close relationship with my parents, and they don't know the meaning of the word "Quit."  During that time, getting me back to health and while supporting my rehabilitation, they were the ones who tried to create as much normalcy for me as possible, and they saw that I was serious about violin and music, so they figured out a way to get the arms off my wheelchair, got me set up so I could play and practice, hired a private music teacher named Matthew Grasso whom I still learn from and play music with to this day, and the rest is history.  I've never stopped.  I'd have to say if there were people who were particularly influential and inspiring to me, it'd have to be my parents.  Musically, Matt continues to inspire me, my other longtime teacher and friend Anna Presler, the lot of people from the Philip Glass camp such as longtime director of the Philip Glass Ensemble Michael Riesman, and my good friend Richard Guerin.  I knew of them long before they knew of me, but I'm really happy we know about each other now.

CB: What are some of your musical dreams, ideals or plans?

CS: I've had a longtime, healthy obsession with British composer Michael Nyman.  I've wanted to play in the Michael Nyman Band for as long as I can remember--like the same way David Bowie knew he wanted to play sax with Little Richard's band.  The good news is that it seems closer as a possibility now than it ever has before.  I keep asking Nyman if I can pay my way to play just one show with them.  Just one!  I think he thinks I'm being flattering and borderline ridiculous, but occasionally when we talk, he hints that maybe that dream will get to come true for me soon.  I keep hoping!  And practicing.

CB: In your opinion, what could we change or add to the concert experience to make it more inclusive, more welcoming, and even more special than it currently is?

CS: That you and the Orchestra are even asking that question I think makes a world of difference to the community you're serving.  Discovering the best functions for what Camellia Symphony Orchestra does for the immediate and surrounding community is huge.  Keeping the transparency and presence of the orchestra in places where more people have access.  I'm blown away and love the idea that the orchestra occasionally plays concerts on a rooftop.  I love that schools and young people and their families have access to live performances.  Staying in that gear and doubling down on those efforts goes such a long way, and I'm looking forward to joining in those efforts while we're together.

CB: Thank you so much for sharing all this about yourself. We look forward to wonderful collaborations together with you and the Camellia Symphony Orchestra.

CS: Maestro, this is great, thank you.  I love what the orchestra's been doing.  I'm excited to get to work!

Violinist Chase Spruill is forging unique paths connecting contemporary chamber music, music education and public service. He was an artist-in-residence and founding violinist of Sacramento State University’s contemporary chamber music ensemble before accepting a residency at the Nationally celebrated not-for-profit organization Community MusicWorks in Providence, RI where he served as a core faculty member and resident musician from 2012-2017, and was appointed a visiting professor of violin at Wheaton College in Norton, MA from 2015-2017. He’s performed with and collaborated closely alongside notable artists in the field such as Kronos Quartet, Emmanuel Ax, Steven Mackey, Johnny Gandelsman of Brooklyn Rider and the Silk Road Project with Yo-Yo Ma, and currently tours as a duo alongside pianist and longtime director of the Philip Glass Ensemble Michael Riesman. Spruill’s Philip Glass recordings can be found on the composer’s label Orange Mountain Music, where he will be featured on Riesman’s forthcoming album Philip Glass Soundtracks, volume 2 available May 24, 2019.

In 2018, he joined the independent record label Supertrain Records alongside a roster of artists including William Bolcom, Dennis Russell Davies, and Zbigniew Preisner. His first release with the label celebrates the violinist’s ongoing collaboration with award-winning British composer Michael Nyman (notable composer of such films as The Piano, Gattaca, and The End of the Affair...) whom turned 75 in March of 2019. YAMAMOTO PERPETUO is a beautiful, fiery marathon of a score written for a fashion show in Paris during a collaboration with lauded designer Yohji Yamamoto. It is the first widely-available recording of the 12-movement virtuoso work in its intended form (it later became the entirety of the first violin part for String Quartet no.4, a basis for Strong on Oaks, Strong on the Causes of Oaks written for chamber orchestra, and his Violin Concerto no.2) and is the violinist’s solo debut album. Nyman raves that Spruill’s recording,”...is played with fierce dedication...” In the summer of 2019, Chase Spruill was appointed as the new Concertmaster of the Camellia Symphony Orchestra in Sacramento.

Violinist Er-Gene Kahng in Conversation with Christian Baldini

In preparation for our performance of Florence Price's Violin Concerto No. 2 in Sacramento with the Camellia Symphony Orchestra, I had the pleasure of interviewing Er-Gene Kahng, concertmaster of the Arkansas Philharmonic and Fort Smith Symphony, and Professor at the University of Arkansas, who will be our soloist for our performances.

Christian Baldini: Er-Gene, it is a real pleasure to have you with us for this beautiful work by Florence Price. You were instrumental in the rediscovery and recording of this piece. Can you tell us how this project came into being? How did you first become acquainted with the compositions by Florence Price?

Er-Gene Kahng: I would be remiss if I didn't mention that it has been the collective work of our librarians who rescued the manuscripts, our historians and musicologists who have been researching, writing and thinking about Price's life and work since at least the 1970s, the archivists who continue the work to bring her legacy to the fore, and also the many performers before me who were already performing her compositions before we came to discover the lost manuscript of her violin concertos. It has been the combined efforts of a strong community over the course of many decades. 

I first performed Florence Price's String Quartet in G major (1929) at the Florence Price symposium at the University of Arkansas in 2015. After that introduction, my initial curiosity manifested into increasing levels of passion and commitment. One day, while at our special collections library, I found myself looking at Price's violin concerto manuscripts thinking, "this would be really great if someday, somebody recorded these works. Could that person be me... maybe?"


CB: What is so special about Florence Price's music? You bring a very beautiful sound and shape to every phrase in this concerto. Why is this music so special to you?

EGK: Thank you! It *is* beautiful music. And by that, I don't simply mean that it is pretty or pleasing, but that it holds a truth that is deep, layered and impactful. I hear the homage to the classical tradition in which she was trained (and a mastery its language), but also an homage to her Southern roots (even as she came to live the majority of her adult life in Chicago). The very tradition she honored and mastered was also the tradition that limited her opportunities. She questions this tradition without destroying its basic framework. Her answers to these artistic polarities (innovation vs. preservation of tradition) are manifested in the rich world she creates for her listeners, and the language she confidently develops and owns. She holds a space that generously houses classicism and modernist instability in a manner that is searching and assertive, all the while inviting us to respond to these polarities and clashes in our own way. I deeply admire her artistic vision.


CB: In this concert you are also playing the world premiere of Chris Castro's work "Sing High". I know Chris is very excited to have written this piece for you. What can you tell us about this piece?

EGK: I am very excited to share Chris's piece! It is an evocative work with a cornucopia of musical allusions and references, past and current. Despite it being a short, single movement work, it deals with big ideas which always circle around - it seems to me - the question of defining, elaborating and questing the very essence of 'music'. I find that so much of music is actually philosophy. Chris's piece really reminded me of this.


CB: How do you feel about having been so important in this great revival and interest in the music by Florence Price? Did you imagine it was going to have such a positive impact when you started your project?

EGK: I am genuinely surprised, elated and humbled. I had no predictions to its reception; in the beginning, I was simply consumed with the fear and anxiety that the project - for a number of reasons - would fail to finish. When we finally finished, I was overcome with a feeling of relief and gratitude, possibly even a moment of disbelief. As you know, any kind of recording project of this scope is dependent on many, many elements to come together at the right time, not to mention the strong faith, morale and dedication of each team member. Even the most carefully constructed plans cannot guarantee successful completion. I feel lucky and fortunate to have had the right elements in place at the right time with the right people.


CB: You are also a Professor, and have surely had many wonderful students over the years. Are there any tips you would give to aspiring musicians?

EGK: I really like and appreciate my students, not only as artists, but as people; and yes, I've had wonderful students over the years! The tips I would offer aspiring musicians are the same ones I aspire myself: actively creating an environment and attitude of learning; additionally, strengthening and utilizing all available resources for critical self-reflection.
Creating an environment for optimal learning might be something as literal as creating a good practice schedule, or making sure one gets enough sleep so that one isn't tired the next morning. Or, it might mean attending as many live concert performances as one's schedule might allow, or finding time in the day to discuss musical ideas with friends. At the core, it hinges on the idea that successful results require successful processes and that certain environments are more conducive to encouraging that success to surface than others; therefore, we should strive to set the stage for success, whatever this stage might look for you, whatever success means for you.
Bringing an attitude of learning means setting one's ego aside so that the challenges to artistic mastery aren't driven by our ego's need to personalize everything or preserve itself at the cost of truth-seeking or objective/unbiased observation.
Finally, over the years, I have found that keeping in touch with my mentors and role models, and allocating time to write regularly in my practice journal has vastly aided in clarifying my musical values and thinking process. I constantly work toward expanding my musical conceptions, keeping an open mind, and developing my musical empathy. I understand I still have a long way to go, and many, many more things to learn.

CB: As a performer, which answer would you give to folks that normally don't go to the concert hall and that might wonder: why is music still relevant or important in society nowadays?

EGK: I would encourage people to take a chance and enter that special space of live music-making. I more than understand that classical music and traditional concert hall culture may not be for everyone, and that sometimes it may only be successful in capturing the imagination and attention of a few. I also understand its challenges to aural accessibility. However, I do believe that the world of classical music, despite its cultural specificity, represents a very profound world, and creates/maintains a compelling connection to our shared history. It is a powerful anchor in affirming our humanity.


CB: Er-Gene, thank you very much for your time, and for sharing your immense talent with us. We can't wait to share your beautiful playing with our audiences in Sacramento!

EGK: Thank you so much for the invitation and the opportunity!

Er-Gene Kahng

Er-Gene Kahng’s performances have been described as possessing a “caressing sense of phrase” and “an honest musicianship[which] translates the music into a meaningful discourse few virtuosi accomplish”; her recording of Florence Price’s Violin Concertos (Albany Records, 2018) has been cited and praised by The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, and The New York Timesas an important contribution to American classical music, and has aired on programs like NPR’s Songs we Love, and APM’s Performance Today.  Alex Ross described the recording as “Price’s best outing on disk to date… Kahng plays the solo parts with lustrous tone and glistening facility.”

Er-Gene currently serves as Concertmaster with the Fort Smith Symphony, who has also completed a Florence Price preservation project by recording her symphonies no. 1 and no. 4 (a world premiere). Er-Gene also serves as Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra’s concertmaster, where she premiered Florence Price’s Violin Concerto no. 2.  Previously, Er-Gene has held title positions with the North Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, SoNA (Symphony of Northwest Arkansas), Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, as well as section positions with the Lancaster Symphony, New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Eastern Connecticut Symphony and the Artosphere Festival Orchestra.

Er-Gene co-curated a new music series “Fuse” (2015-16), at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art featuring the works of American minimalism, indeterminacy, and postmodernism. Her A/V collaborations include working with animator Wilson Borja, whose work, “Cheré” explores themes of forced and voluntary migration of the African diaspora. Other collaborations include those with the Texas Ballet Theater, and the Hong Kong Arts Academy, performing an original score “Crash” by choreographer Jonathan Watkins.  

Er-Gene was a Visiting Wolfson Fellow at the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, UK in 2016-2017. She received degrees from UCLA, Yale and Northwestern.  Her primary teachers include Mark Kaplan, Erick Friedman, Syoko Aki, the Tokyo String Quartet and Almita and Roland Vamos. She isProfessor of Violin and the Director of Graduate Studies at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.  Her students have gained admission to some of the top music schools in the country, including New England Conservatory, University of Southern California, Peabody Conservatory/Johns Hopkins University, University of Minnesota, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, as well as being prizewinners of the MTNA regional and national level competitions.